


The Dog Never Died

by WordsmithChar



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-12
Updated: 2016-12-14
Packaged: 2018-09-08 04:36:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8830651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WordsmithChar/pseuds/WordsmithChar
Summary: What if Sirus had been saved? A mystery woman appears in Dumbledore's office, and everyone seems to know her, apart from Harry. Who is she, and why is she kissing Snape and hugging Lupin? Post OOTP, with some canon but a lot of changes.





	1. Chapter 1

"But some part of him realized, even as he fought to break free from Lupin, that Sirius had never kept him waiting before. . . . Sirius had risked everything, always, to see Harry, to help him. . . . If Sirius was not reappearing out of that archway when Harry was yelling for him as though his life depended on it, the only possible explanation was that he could not come back. . . . That he really was . . ." Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, p.808

Chapter One

'I shall see you in half an hour' said Dumbledore quietly. 'One… two… three…'

Harry felt the familiar sensation of a hook jerked behind his navel. The polished wooden floor was gone from beneath his feet; the Atrium, Fudge and Dumbledore had all disappeared and he was flying forwards in a whirlwind of colour and sound…

The familiar view of Dumbledore's majestic office encircled him. A few of the dozing portraits grunted awake at the sound of Harry hitting the floor. Harry got up and stood silent for a moment. Sirius was gone. He had fallen behind the curtain and wasn't going to return. Harry kicked at the desk angrily, and then winced in pain at how hard his foot had connected. Among the tinkling of the headmasters fragile instruments falling to the floor, a familiar chuckle sounded behind him.

'Bit of a stupid thing to do.’

Harry froze, standing on one leg and clutching his injured toe. No. It could not be. He didn't turn, but instead slowly lowered his foot. Harry had seen him die, and now his mind was playing tricks on him. He must just be exhausted, and replaying old memories of his godfather in his head. Yeah, that was it, he said to himself. Shaking his head, he lent down to rub at his aching foot, when the voice spoke again.

'Harry? Are you alright?' A gentle hand touched his shoulder, and the weight of it was too real for Harry. He suddenly turned, and was caught in shock at Sirius standing right in front of him, looking very confused and very much alive.

'He saw you die, Pads, give him a minute, for Merlin's sake.' Harry jumped, turning back to see a woman lounging in Dumbledore's chair. She had long scarlet hair, darker than a Weasley, tied up into a pony tail. She was around Sirius' age and was wearing distinctly muggle clothes. She was sitting sideways, so her legs hung lazily over one of the arms and her feet rocked back and forth in thick, lace up boots.

It was Sirius’ turn to freeze this time. His eyes wide and his mouth hanging open, he whispered ‘Jess?’

‘The one and only, gorgeous,’ she smirked, resting her chin lazily on her palm.

‘I..you..no. No. You were.. you are.. dead.’ All the blood seemed to have drained from his face, and his hands were visibly shaking hanging down at his sides.

‘So are you, mate, and you’re still standing there with your mouth open like a bloody fish. I'll just explain when everyone gets here, skip repeating myself a hundred times over.' With that, she sent a patronus from her wand, which formed the ghost of a small bird, out of the open window. Sirius seemed to be on the brink of falling over, looking even more worried than the night Voldemort had returned. 

Harry choked suddenly, tears springing a leak down his face. Sirius was alive. He was actually alive, standing there in front of him and now looking at him with concern.

‘Harry? What’s wrong? What happened at the Ministry? I was there.. but then I was here. I just..’ Sirius was interrupted again, although this time by the appearance of Dumbledore in the office doorway. Sirius immediately began towards Dumbledore, as if to begin asking questions, but Dumbledore's electric blue eyes became fixated on the woman’s presence. She remained lazily draped across his chair.

'You took your time,' she said, glancing up at him and raising her eyebrows.

Dumbledore's mouth, that had been hanging open at the sight of her, snapped closed.   
'I apologise for my lateness,' he replied calmly, approaching the desk. The woman made no move to vacate his seat, so Dumbledore conjured three cushy armchairs out of thin air and settled into one. He gestured for Sirius and Harry to join him, but only Harry did. Sirius remained rooted to the spot, staring wordlessly at her.

'Welcome back, Jessica. I must admit that we thought you gone...'

'I was, for a while…' At these words, Sirius seemed to come alive with fury, moving forward and pointing wildly at her.

'For a while! You were gone for fifteen years, Jess! Do you know what's happened? Do you know what happened to James and Lily? He killed them! Do you know what’s happened to Harry? To me? All in the while since you’ve been gone! Do you know what Pettigrew did?’

'Of course I know what Pettigrew did. Course I fucking know. You ask where I was, but where the fuck were you? You lost your temper at the rat and got yourself locked up in fucking Azkaban! Great lot of good you were to Harry! I’m sure thats exactly what James wanted you to do!’ Jessica bit back; sitting up in the chair, her eyes murderous. It was now Harry’s turn for his mouth to fall open. Dumbledore, on the otherhand, looked at them over his half-moon glasses, his eyes flicking between them as if watching an interesting game of tennis.

'JAMES WAS YOUR BROTHER, JESSICA! YOU WEREN’T HERE! YOU LEFT AND HARRY HAD NO ONE!'

'YEAH, BECAUSE YOU GOT YOURSELF ARRESTED FOR MURDER!' As her voice raised, Jessica sat higher and higher in the chair, and Dumbledore's brow began to furrow. All of a sudden, Harry realised what Sirius had said. James was Jessica's brother, he'd said. Harry had another aunt, and this one was maybe the furthest thing away you could get from Petunia Dursley.

'MAYBE I WOULDN'T HAVE, IF YOU HAD BEEN AROUND TO TRY AND HELP!'

'I'm your what?' Harry interjected, at a normal volume, still trying to catch up.

'WHAT, LIKE YOU WERE?! YOU WERE MEANT TO BE THEIR SECRET KEEPER, SIRIUS! WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT, EH?!'

'THE RAT CONVINCED ME!'

'YOU STUPID MUTT!'

'Enough,' said Dumbledore calmly, though the two paid absolutely no attention to him.

'FAT LOT OF GOOD YOU WERE, LOCKED UP IN BLOODY AZKABAN!'

'FAT LOT OF GOOD YOU WERE, RUNNING AWAY!'

'I DID NOT RUN AWAY!'

'Enough!' Dumbledore said loudly, standing up. As he did, the office door crashed open, revealing Lupin, Professor McGonagall and Snape.

'Sirius??' Lupin took a step into the room, shocked to see the best friend that he thought he had lost standing in front of him, his face red with anger. Sirius turned to look at him, revealing the woman standing almost nose to nose with him. 'Jessica!'

The woman smiled at the sight of him, for the first time since she had appeared, seemingly out of thin air. Harry noticed how young she looked when she smiled, and how white her teeth were against the deep crimson of her lips.

'Remus! Darling, you're missing the party, get in here!' She walked around Sirius, not even bothering to look at him, and ran into Lupin's surprised arms. He seemed as shocked as Sirius to see her there, but nowhere near as angry, as he held her by the shoulders to look at her, and his face split into a wide grin. He looked past her to Sirius, and his eyes creased.

'But, how, Sirius? We saw you fall, Bellatrix's curse hit you square in the chest.' Sirius looked questioningly at him, completely unaware of what Lupin was talking about. Jessica, however, waved off Lupin's questions.

'We can get to all that in a minute. Snivellus! How nice of you to join us!' She had moved away from Lupin and had planted a kiss on Snape's shocked face, leaving a red lip imprint on his pasty cheek. 'And, Minnie too! Oh, aren't we ever so popular!' At a mention of her name, shocking Harry, McGonagall broke into a smile and shook her head amiably at her. Jessica grinned, and walked back to Dumbledore's chair and sat down, this time with both feet on the floor. Snape seemed to be trying to take the look of shock of his face, and replace it with one of malice, but to Harry's amazement, a subtle blush reddened his sallow features.

'Jessica, I do not wish to rush you, but Harry has had a long night. Madame Pomfrey will probably be wishing to have a look over him in the hospital wing presently…'

'Oh, yeah. Sorry.' She looked over for the first time at Harry, and smiled sheepishly. Harry eyes brushed over features, trying to pinpoint any similarities between the two of them. Maybe in the way her nose curved, or something, he supposed. Dumbledore, however, had immediately recognised a similarity between them; their tempers, which could erupt without warning.

'Why don't we all sit down?' Dumbledore asked, conjuring another three chairs around the desk and gesturing to those standing to take a seat.

'Some tea would be good too, Dobs,' Jessica said casually,which was immediately followed by a loud crack!

'Mistress Jessie! Mistress Jessie! You is home!' Dobby jumped up and down in glee, his tea cosies wobbling dangerously on his head. 'You have come back to see Dobby! Dobby has missed you so much, Mistress Jessie!' The house elf threw his arms around Jessica's legs into a tight hug and then leapt back. 'Mistress Jessie ask for tea? Dobby will be right back!' And with a second crack! Dobby disappeared.

'You know Dobby?!' Harry said in utter disbelief. 'How?'

But, before she could answer, Dobby had returned, floating a heavily laden tray complete with a teapot, a large plate of biscuits and jugs of sugar and milk. Alongside the tray, seven cups and saucers appeared, floating towards each person residing in the office.

'Dobby brought your favourite biscuits, Mistress! Dobby still remembers!' He said excitedly, his ears bouncing while he hurried to fill her cup with tea. When he was done, he turned, 'And Master Harry! You is meeting Mistress Jessica!' Dobby was so happy, tears seemed to be streaming from his eyes and he almost dropped the teapot. Jessica reached over and took it from him, placing it onto the tray now sitting on the desk.

'Thank you, Dobby. Listen, go back to the kitchens and I'll come visit you as soon as I've finished with this lot, okay?' Dobby grinned toothily and nodded. He threw his arms around her legs once more, backed away and disappeared.

'You know Dobby?!' Harry repeated, staring at the spot where Dobby had been standing.

'I'm sure he's going to want to be the one to explain it all, so I'll leave it to him. We've got a lot of stuff to talk about as it is.' Jessica looked across to Harry once more, and smiled, her eyes shining brightly.

'Jessica, you had better start talking.' Sirius demanded. He had moved his armchair closer to Harry's, and put one hand on his shoulder.

'Start at the beginning, if you will,' Dumbledore added. 

'Can't I just go over at happened tonight?' She said with a groan, dramatically throwing her head back like a toddler about to have a tantrum. 'Like you said, Harry is tired and it's been a long night for everyone. I mean, Sirius died and everything and…'

'What!?' Sirius said with a bark, his eyes wide, Harry moved uncomfortably as the hand on his shoulder turned into a vice-like grip.

'Just the events of tonight will suffice for now, Jessica. But, we will need to talk about what else has happened.' Dumbledore nodded his head; a prompt for her to begin speaking.

'I heard through the grapevine that tonight was the night that they were going to get into the Department of Mysteries to get the prophecy. I heard the Dark Lord was going to use Harry to get it. I knew that if Harry was going to get into deep water, there would be no stopping Sirius. After all, the man will risk his bloody life at the drop of a fucking hat. As soon as I heard, I made for London. Got there too late to stop them going in. Found the red headed boy, I guess he's one of Arthur's…'

'Ron,' Harry interrupted, 'his name is Ron.'

'Fine, I found Ron covered in the brains in one of the rooms and threw a couple of stunners at them, which got the majority off. I guessed that Harry would only have left his friends if the death eaters were getting close to the prophecy. Then, a bunch of the Order of Phoenix ran past, and Sirius was in the middle of them.' She turned to Sirius then, who was staring at her intently. 'You're an idiot for going there. You know that Lestrange has it in for you, and that she'll do anything to get at you.'

Sirius opened his mouth at this, as if he were about to argue, but Lupin reached out and put his hand softly on his arm, a silent message to stop himself.

'I accio-ed Sirius out of the group and stunned him. I had a little Polyjuice on hand so took a few of his hairs. I may have pulled a few too many, so look out for a bald spot, Pads.' Predictably, Sirius immediately put his hand up to his hair and she sneered at him.

‘I took a death eater out, one of the thugs always hanging around Malfoy. Goyle, I think his name is.' At Harry's nod, she continued, 'I used imperius on him- and don't give me that look, Minnie, sometimes it is necessary- and forced the potion down him. He was the one you saw die, and fall behind the veil. I got Sirius back to Dumbledore's office and left him here to wake up. I didn't see the rest of the battle, but I went and checked on your friends, Harry. Did what I could to help the bushy-haired girl. I think she was the only one seriously injured.'

'Don't worry, Mr Potter. Miss Granger is in the hospital wing. Madame Pomfrey thinks she will be waking up within the next few hours,' Professor McGonagall assured him, when a look of alarm crossed across his face.

'And everyone else? Ron and Ginny? Neville and Luna?' Harry looked around to the headmaster, who was smiling and nodding.

'Everyone is just fine, Harry. There were no fatalities on our side, especially as we now know about Sirius being safe,’ Dumbledore intoned, reaching across and patting his knee. 

Harry breathed deeply, and began to feel fatigue set in. He thought of how comfy a fresh pair of pyjamas would be, and how warm he would be in bed. As his eyes began to droop, Dumbledore rose from his seat, followed quickly by Snape, McGonagall and Lupin. Jessica remained in her seat, looking with her head tilted at Harry. He looked so much like James, it was scary. With his eyes almost closed, he reminded her of the way James would fall asleep in front of the fire at home when he was a child.

The headmaster continued, 'I think it is best that Harry goes to find Poppy right about now, Professor McGonagall.' As she nodded, and went to take Harry's arm to lead him out of the armchair and down to the hospital wing, Sirius interjected.

'I'll take him,' he announced, putting his arm around Harry, who stood sleepily next to him.

'I'm sorry, Sirius, but I must insist that you are not seen walking about the castle. Minerva will ensure he gets there safely. Perhaps, it is best that you go back to Grimmauld Place for the night, and return tomorrow, to see Harry. Remus, will you?'

Lupin took hold of Sirius' arm, said a quiet 'goodnight' to Harry, threw a smile at Jessica, and began to walk towards the doorway. But, Sirius stood his ground, staring Dumbledore down.

'I’m staying with Harry. Even if it's just as his loveable dog curled up next to his bed.' In the background, Jessica snorted into her hand, trying to hold back giggles, throwing a glance at Snape who was smirking. Sirius ignored her, and continued to look at the Headmaster.

'If you must, Sirius. But, please walk down to the hospital wing in your dog form. Your presence may not be particularly well appreciated by some members of staff. Mr. Filch, for instance.' Jessica snorted even louder this time, which was echoed by Lupin, although he covered his with a cough. Harry began to shuffle towards the door, no longer caring who came with him, just longing for a bed to sleep in. Sirius silently followed, changing into his animagus form as he went.


	2. Chapter 2

Harry awoke with a jolt, his eyes flashing open and his hands hauling him into a sitting position. Sirius, who had been curled up as a dog on the floor next to the bed, was immediately on his feet, transformed back into a human. Harry looked around in shock, the events of the previous night flooding back to him in unbelievable waves. He saw Ron fighting against the brains, being wrapped up tighter and tighter. He saw Hermione collapse and Neville dropping the prophecy. The contents of which he still had no idea of, he realised, grabbing at the sheets. Then the image of Sirius, a laugh still etched on his face, being hit by Bellatrix Lestrange's curse, falling backwards into the veil. Then he remembered the comforting weight of Sirius' hand on his shoulder, when he turned and found that his godfather was still alive. The woman had saved him.

That woman. Jessica, they had called her. Sirius had said.. no.. it couldn't be. Harry thought that he had heard Sirius say that James had been her brother. That Harry was her nephew. But, that couldn't be. Someone would have told him. Sirius, or Lupin, or Dumbledore. But, Dumbledore hadn't told him about the prophecy, or the Order of the Phoenix. He hadn't saved Harry from the Dursley's; he'd abandoned him there. That woman, if she was his aunt, she had left him too. She had left him with the Dursley's, to be locked in a cupboard and practically starved. His grip tightened on the sheets. Everyone knew about her, except him. Even Dobby, who had tried to save him in his second year, and who had got him through the lake task in his fourth. He had called her 'Mistress.' How did they know each other? Why did everyone know about it, except him?

When had he fallen asleep? He suddenly thought back, very aware that he did not remember the end of the conversation last night. He looked around the hospital wing; it was practically empty, apart from Madame Pomfrey in her office. Everyone must have already gone down to breakfast, he realised. But, Ron and Hermione had been in a much worse way than he had. How long had he been sleeping. He looked to Sirius, who had been watching Harry think with wide eyes and a worried expression. Harry swung his legs over the side of the bed, trying to stand, but his legs were wobbly and he sank down into a sitting position. How long had he been asleep? The last thing he really remembered from the conversation was Dobby's appearance, and sipping the tea while listening to the woman begin to explain. Had he interrupted her at one point? He had a vague recollection of correcting her.

'Harry? Harry, what's wrong?' Sirius' worry was evident in his voice, and he grabbed at his arm when Harry tried to stand again.

'Where is she?! That woman, Jessica, where is she?!' Harry demanded, his head whipping from side to side, checking to see if she was hidden in the hospital wing. She had appeared out of nowhere last night in Dumbledore's office.

'I…' Sirius hesitated, but continued when Harry looked at him, wide eyed and expectant, 'I don't know… I haven’t left you since I brought you here.' Harry tried to lift himself off the bed once more, but Sirius stopped him. 'Harry, she might have even gone already. She never said whether she was sticking around. Just take it easy. I'll get Madame Pomfrey…' Sirius didn't need to though, as Madame Pomfrey was already walking across the hospital wing from her office, her mouth in a tight line, carrying a steaming potion.

'Mr. Potter, you are awake. You have been asleep for much longer than I expected, nearly fifteen hours. Mr. Black , you will have to move out of my way, I need to see to my patient.' Madame Pomfrey elbowed Sirius out of the way and tried to take Harry's temperature. However, Harry jerked his head out of the way, and made to get out of bed again.

'I want to go, I have things to do,' Harry said, reaching for a dressing gown folded on the table next to him. Madame Pomfrey reached across the bed and, with more force than Harry expected, pulled him back on to the bed. She poured a cup full of the potion and briskly handed it to him. Harry downed it, and grimaced at the taste of dirt and milk.

'You can go presently, Mr. Potter. You had a long night, Professor Dumbledore explained to me what has happened. He will want to speak to you…'

'I want to speak to him and I want to go now.' And, with that, Harry launched himself out of bed, grabbed the fresh robes that were always left nearby, and marched out of the hospital wing. Sirius followed, obviously concerned, in his animal form. Madame Pomfrey watched the two leave, muttering about how unhygienic the dog was, directing her wand to strip the bed.

Once Harry had changed in a nearby bathroom, he and Sirius began to walk towards the Headmasters office, ignoring whispers from first years and congratulations from fifth years. As they turned a corner, Harry almost walked head first into Colin Creevey, who was carrying a basket of fruit and a 'GET WELL SOON!' card.

'Harry! I was just coming to visit you!' Colin lifted the basket into Harry's gaze, and carried on; 'Ron and Hermione were just finishing lunch and then they were coming too! Hey, nice dog! Is he friendly? Hey, Harry! Where are you going?' Harry just kept walking past Colin, who looked on confused, especially when the dog with Harry seemed to shake his head disapprovingly.

He kept walking determinedly towards Dumbledore's office, not bothering to glance at Sirius to see if he was keeping pace. As he got to the gargoyle, he realised that he didn't have the password. He started shouting random sweets at it, hoping it would move.

'Honeydukes! Sugar Quills! Chocolate Frog! Bertie Botts Every Flavoured Beans! I don't know! Butterbeer Cough Drops?!' This encouraged very alarmed glances from passing students and portraits. Sirius looked up at him, desperately hoping he would calm down before talking to Dumbledore and Jessica. The latter knew very well how to shout.

'Mr. Potter, what do you think you are doing?' Came Professor McGonagall's strict voice from behind him.

As Professor McGonagall impatiently looked at Harry for an answer to what he was doing, the gargoyle suddenly jumped aside. Harry launched himself at the stairs, not bothering to answer the deputy Headmistress, and Sirius followed diligently behind him. When he reached the door to Dumbledore's office, Harry did not wait to be asked in, nor did he knock. Instead, he burst in angrily, looking around the room for any sign of the mystery woman he had met the night before.

She was sat in a comfy looking armchair, with a sandwich on a plate hovering next to her, opposite the Headmaster. Both had looked around at the sound of the door, but neither seemed surprised at who had entered. Harry supposed that they must have heard him shouting downstairs, and had ordered the gargoyle to move.

'Good afternoon, Sleeping Beauty,' smirked the woman. Her sarcasm grated on Harry, and his reply was a dark stare.

'Harry, we understand your anger and that you will want to…'

'Anger?' Harry said quietly, looking straight at Dumbledore. 'Why would I be angry, Professor? Maybe because you left us with that hag all year? The hag that used veritaserum on everyone, and then tried to use the cruciatus curse on me?'

'Harry, I…'

'Or, maybe because you left Snape to teach me Occlumency, after I watched Mr. Weasley get attacked by Nagini? It didn't work though, did it? VOLDEMORT TRICKED ME AND I HAD TO WATCH SIRIUS DIE! AND THEN YOU SEND ME BACK, WITHOUT ANY EXPLANATION AT ALL, AND SIRIUS IS HERE, ALIVE! THIS RANDOM WOMAN SAVED HIM AND THEN? THEN SHE STARTS SPOUTING THAT SHE’S MY AUNT!'

'Harry, calm down for a moment,' Sirius urged. 'I’m angry aswell. There will be an explanation, I'm sure…'

'MY AUNT, WHO YOU NEVER EVEN TOLD ME ABOUT. YOU LEFT ME AT THE DURSLEYS TO LIVE IN A CUPBOARD UNDER THE STAIRS, WITH DUDLEY PUNCHING ME WITH EVERY CHANCE HE COULD GET. THEN I FIND OUT I'M A WIZARD AND YOU DON'T EXPLAIN ANYTHING! YOU LEAVE ME TO DEFEAT VOLDEMORT OVER AND OVER. AND LAST YEAR, I WATCHED CEDRIC DIE AND YOU STILL DID NOT SAY ANYTHING!'

'HARRY, THAT IS ENOUGH.' Dumbledore bellowed, standing up from his chair. Jessica had not taken her eyes off of Harry since he had stepped into the room. She regarded him with a sense of confusion, rather than pity. Dumbledore had refrained from telling her anything about Harry's life at her request; she wanted to hear it from Harry himself. Just from looking at her, you could see her mind was whirring.

Harry had paused, breathing heavily. Sirius stood slightly behind him, seeming hesitant to approach. Dumbledore sunk back into his chair, not looking away from Harry for a moment.

'I want to know everything. I need to know everything,' Harry said slowly and deliberately. Dumbledore opened his mouth as if he intended to speak, but Jessica interrupted him.

'I will tell you everything you want to know. The question is whether you will accept it.' Jessica rose from her seat and began to walk to Harry, continuing to speak. 'When I say that I left you for a reason, you will need to believe me. I had a choice and I made my choice. It may have been the wrong one, but you will need to stop yourself resenting it. I do not regret my choice, Harry, as there is no point. I left and you were given to the Dursley's. I cannot change what has happened. When I tell you where I have been and why, you have to just listen. Wait until you have heard everything to begin asking questions.'

'Fine.' Harry replied bluntly, approaching an empty armchair and stiffly sitting on it.

'Albus, Sirius, leave.' Jessica ordered, waving them away with her hand. Dumbledore slowly stood, and began to walk to the door. Sirius, on the other hand, looked shocked as his willingness to leave. He did, however, get up once Dumbledore had firmly grasped his shoulder, raising his silver eyebrows at him.

Harry and Jessica Potter were left sitting alone in the grand office. Neither spoke. Harry only looked darkly at his aunt, whereas she acknowledged him curiously. She sat looking at him, studying him. He looked exactly like James.

'Well?'

'Where should I begin?'

'At the start.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A shorter chapter this time, thankyou everyone for the kudos! Would love a couple of reviews this time if anyone has a moment :)


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